On December 15, the White House was the setting for its own romantic holiday movie, though it didn’t involve amnesia or a big-city career gal moving to a small town to reconnect with her high-school boyfriend who’s now a lumberjack and handyman. Instead, President Trump “let the cat out of the bag” by announcing that his son, Donald Trump Jr., was engaged to a woman named Bettina Anderson.
“I’m not usually at a loss for words, because I’m usually doing the ranting and raving really well,” said the 47-year-old Don Jr. “I want to thank Bettina for that one word: ‘Yes.’” It was, he said, a “big win for the end of the year”.
Bigly. Who is this new branch on the Trump family tree? Articles widely describe Anderson as a “Florida socialite.” But that seems to sell her a bit short.
Anderson was born in 1986 to a prominent Palm Beach, Florida, family. Her father Harry Anderson is a prominent “banker and philanthropist,” who became the youngest bank president in the world when he turned 26. In other words, they’re really rich. Bettina Anderson went to Columbia University and graduated with a degree in art history. She worked as a model and influencer, as one does, posing for regional publications like Palm Beach Illustrated. As she wrote in her Instagram bio, which clearly hasn’t been updated in more than a year, “I’m just your typical stay at home mom… only I don’t do household chores… or have a husband… or have kids.”
But she doesn’t appear to lack substance. Anderson co-founded an environmental charity, with her siblings, called Project Paradise that released a documentary film about Florida’s endangered freshwater springs. The organization sponsors a grant program to other filmmakers who want to highlight Florida-based conservation projects. “One of the greatest focuses of my life is how I can be of service to others and a be steward of the environment,” she told a fashion blog in 2022.
In other words, Donald Trump, Jr.’s fiancé is at least nominally a liberal. This doesn’t run counter to family tradition. Jared and Ivanka aren’t exactly right-leaning figures. Even Donald Trump himself was a Democrat until he wasn’t. Anderson doesn’t bring politics to the table. She brings pedigree. The phrase that’s followed her around is “from the WASPy circles of Palm Beach.”
As an “insider” told People magazine earlier this year, “Don Jr. has always wanted to look good in his father’s eyes. Someone like Bettina, who is and has been a model, and is in WASPy circles of Palm Beach is something that would impress him.”
The engagement came as a surprise to people – like most of us – who really haven’t been paying close attention to Donald Trump Jr.’s personal life. Starting in 2018, Don. Jr. was attached to Kimberly Guilfoile, a former Fox News host and author of a children’s book called “The Princess and The Pup”. People Magazine cruelly stuck Guilfoyle with the sobriquet “Margarita Girl” for her hard-partying lifestyle. Don Jr., “kicked Kimberly to the curb”, according to the preternaturally cruel gossip website The List, because of her penchant for “tacky little white dresses.”
“Don Jr. has been telling people for months that Kim is so uptight and always dresses so professionally in these kinds of dresses and high heels, and never looks relaxed or casual,” a “source” told The List. “The tight dresses need to go and she has been told that.”
Too tacky for the Trumps? There were reports that Don Jr. found Guilfoyle “controlling” and that they had “different goals.” They publicly argued at Mar-A-Lago. By September 2024, they were “splitting up assets,” and had broken up entirely by December 2024. As a not-bad consolation prize thousands of miles away, President Trump appointed Guilfoyle as U.S. Ambassador to Greece.
Bettina Anderson appeared at the Republican National Convention in July 2024, sitting next to a child in a rafter directly behind Don Jr. and Guilfoyle, both of whom were scowling. By September, The Daily Mail reported that Don Jr. and Anderson were seen “kissing and eating brunch together” in Palm Beach, and in October, she hosted a fundraiser for Trump Sr.’s Presidential campaign.
In December 2024, Anderson posted a photo of a bouquet of Flowers from Don Jr. on her birthday, with the accompanying card “Many have said you’re aging out but I think you’re perfect… happy birthday!” They attended Trump’s inauguration as a couple, as well as the White House Easter egg roll, the U.S. Army’s 250th birthday parade, the FIFA Club World Cup and a dinner for the Saudi Crown Prince.
And now, they’re to be wed. Don Jr. has been married before, to a woman named Vanessa, and they have five children together. Vanessa is currently in a relationship with golfer Tiger Woods, whose own marital history is, to say the least, suspect. But Anderson appears to understand what she’s getting into. The President kissed her on the cheek at Christmas and said “good luck.” And he told the crowd, “they get along very well.”
At the reception, Anderson briefly addressed the people gathered to witness her holiday romance miracle. “This has really been the most unforgettable weekend of my life,” she said, “and I get to marry the love of my life, and I feel just like the luckiest girl in the world”.
Let not the marriage of true minds admit impediments. As one of a seemingly endless series of “insiders” qualified to comment on Trump family love-life issues told the gossip press, “they just might go the distance.”
